In Memoriam – December 2012

The Grim Reaper had a busy December. The headlines went to Ravi Shankar and Dave Brubeck, but the month also claimed two of the 1960s more unjustly overlooked female soul singers, Fontella Bass and Marva Whitney.

Hal Schaefer, who has died at 87, might have been a fine musician, but his greatest fame resides in the “Wrong Door Affair”. Google this quite amazing story involving Schaefer and Marilyn Monroe, whose vocal coach he was, Joe DiMaggio, Frank Sinatra, private detective Barney Ruditsky and a wrong address. Schaefer was also vocal coach for Mitzi Gaynor, Barbra Streisand and Judy Garland.

Gil Friesen was the business chief of A&M Records where co-founder Herb Alpert took care of the artistic side, and Jerry Moss of promotion. He was the taxi drives in the Tijuana Taxi video, and Dolores Erickson, the cream-covered on the cover of Alpert’s Whipped Cream And Other Delights cover (which I wrote about HERE), was his girlfriend at the time. Friesen was also a movie producer; one of the films he produced was The Breakfast Club.

Alvy West, 97, saxophonist and bandleader, on November 30Anita O’Day with the Alvy West Band – Ace In The Hole (1947)